“Blessed Are Those Who Mourn”
Matthew 5:4

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
All Saints Sunday—November 3, 2019

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

This morning’s Gospel Reading features the beautiful Beatitudes of our Lord.  Our message for All Saints Day, when we remember those who have gone before us to heavenly glory, is based on the second Beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

A few decades ago, the man who was at the time the most powerful media mogul in the United States declared in a speech that “Christianity is for losers.”  As OFFENSIVE as those words are, in many ways he actually was correct.  Jesus put it this way: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” 

Being a Christian is not a triumphant badge to be worn only by those who’ve got it all together.  The Christian Church is not a museum, to put on display and glorify those whom this world considers winners.  Rather, the Christian Church is a hospital for the sick—you and me. 

There is a beautiful old hymn that puts it this way:

“I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto me and rest;
“‘Lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast.’
“I came to Jesus as I was, weary, and worn, and sad;
“I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.”

The whole theme of the Beatitudes is that through faith in Christ, losers like you and me are made winners.  Not necessarily in the eyes of the world, as St. John explains in today’s Epistle Reading: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.”

Though we may still be considered losers in the eyes of the world, through faith in Christ we are made winners where it really counts: in the eyes of God.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . .  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. . .  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . .  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

There are two kinds of “mourning” that Jesus is speaking of and promising to relieve: SPIRITUAL mourning and EMOTIONAL mourning.  Spiritual mourning is realizing that you are a sinner, deserving of God’s punishment, grieving over your sins.  As David cries out in Psalm 51, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”  And as we confessed in our Liturgy a few moments ago, “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto you all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended you.”

That is the cry of spiritual mourning.  Spiritual mourning means to repent and seek God’s forgiveness.  St. John promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . .  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. . .  and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  Those words find fulfillment every time you turn to the Lord in spiritual mourning, confessing your sins, and receive the COMFORT of his Holy Absolution, “I forgive you all your sins.”

It’s that time of year when we’ll be eating more of what is called “comfort food,” like turkey and dressing, chili and stew.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  Those words find fulfillment every time you receive from the Lord ’s Table the true “comfort food,” his body and blood, given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins.

The second kind of mourning Jesus promises to relieve is emotional mourning.  As that hymn says, “I came to Jesus as I was, weary, and worn, and sad.”  One time a member of my church, who had suffered many traumas in her life and had stopped coming to church, told me, “I can’t bear to be in church anymore, because everyone expects me to put on a big smile and pretend that everything is alright.  Well, everything is not alright, and I can’t pretend that it is.”

Right now in this room there are so many hurts, so many pains, so many troubles.  Some of these are known to others; some are known only to yourself.  Jesus invites you, not to cover it up or pretend it’s alright, but to come to him, “weary, and worn, and sad,” and find in him comfort and peace: “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

There is a story about a little girl who is terribly frightened one night by a thunderstorm.  She cries out to her father in the other room, “Daddy, Daddy, I’m scared,” and he calls back, “Don’t worry, honey, Jesus is with you.”  “I know that,” she says, “but right now I could use somebody with skin on.”

Jesus’ promise of comfort for your emotional mourning is fulfilled in this life through your brothers and sisters in Christ, who share your burdens and soothe your wounds with the Good News of God’s love.  They are for you Jesus “with skin on” when you are troubled and frightened by the storms of this world.  As St. Paul says in 2nd Corinthians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”   In your life, be for others Jesus with skin on.

Jesus’ promise of comfort for your emotional mourning is also fulfilled through the hope and promise you have in Christ of eternal life, where the Lord himself will relieve you of all suffering and comfort you face to face.  As Revelation says: “God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  That will be the ultimate fulfillment of the second beatitude, as the Lord relieves you FOREVER, of both spiritual mourning over your sin, and emotional mourning over your struggles in this life. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” 

Come to Jesus with your SPIRITUAL mourning over your sins.  Come to Jesus with your EMOTIONAL mourning, “weary and worn and sad.”  Come to Jesus and he will give you comfort, and peace, and rest, as Psalm 30 says: “You turned my mourning into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.”

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”  Amen.